Sir Alex Ferguson reveals his blueprint for managing Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson has delivered a fascinating blueprint for management by
claiming “comprehensive control”, a readiness to be a risk-taker and the
ability to delegate were crucial to his success at Manchester United.

Top tips: Sir Alex Ferguson delivered a lecture to students at Harvard last year, enabling professor Anita Elberse to study his methodsPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

Ferguson, who stepped down as United manager in May after 26 years in charge at Old Trafford, has revealed his managerial secrets in a case study compiled by Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse for the October edition of the Harvard Business Review.

However, with the 71-year-old’s fractured relationship with Wayne Rooney leading to the forward’s troubled summer at the club, Ferguson’s comments about controlling players offer a glimpse into his subsequent handling of the England striker in the closing weeks of last season.

“If the coach has no control, he will not last,” Ferguson said. “You have to achieve a position of comprehensive control. Players must recognise that as the manager you have the status to control events. Before I came to United, I told myself I wasn’t going to allow anyone to be stronger than I was. Your personality has to be bigger than theirs. That is vital.

“There are occasions when you have to ask yourself whether certain players are affecting the dressing-room atmosphere, the performance of the team, and your control of the players and staff. If they are, you have to cut the cord. There is absolutely no other way. It doesn’t matter if the person is the best player in the world. The long-term view of the club is more important than any individual, and the manager has to be the most important one in the club.”

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Ferguson admits that his ruthless streak, exposed by the sudden departures of key players such as Jaap Stam, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Roy Keane, was another vital element of his management. “I tended to act quickly when I saw a player become a negative influence,” said Ferguson, who is to be honoured by Trafford Council next month with the ­renaming of a road close to Old Trafford as Sir Alex Ferguson Way.

“Some might say I acted impulsively, but I think it was critical that I made up my mind quickly. Why should I have gone to bed with doubts? I would wake up the next day and take the necessary steps to maintain discipline. I am a gambler a risk taker and you can see that in how we played in the late stages of matches.”

United’s success during the two decades of the Premier League was built on Ferguson’s ability to overhaul and rebuild trophy-winning teams on numerous occasions. And he admits that the process of regeneration would always begin place three years before implementation.

“The goal was to evolve gradually, moving older players out and younger players in. It was mainly about two things: First, who did we have coming through and where did we see them in three years’ time, and second, were there signs that existing players were getting older? Some players can go on for a long time, like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Rio Ferdinand, but age matters.

“The hardest thing is to let go of a player who has been a great guy but all the evidence is on the field. If you see the change, the deterioration, you have to ask yourself what things are going to be like two years ahead.

“Everything we did was about maintaining the standards we had set as a football club this applied to all my team building and all my team preparation, motivational talks, and tactical talks. For example, we never allowed a bad training session. What you see in training manifests itself on the game field.

“So every training session was about quality. We didn’t allow a lack of focus. It was about intensity, concentration, speed a high level of performance. That, we hoped, made our players improve with each session.

“Fear has to come into it, but you can be too hard. If players are fearful all the time, they won’t perform well either. But I had to lift players’ expectations. They should never give in. I said that to them all the time: ‘If you give in once, you’ll give in twice.’ And the work ethic and energy I had seemed to spread throughout the club.”

Despite developing a reputation as a fearsome dictator, Ferguson insists that softening his stance and taking a step back was also important. Ferguson would often not appear on the training ground until Thursday, allowing his coaches to prepare the players ahead of a weekend fixture.

He credits his coaching staff at Aberdeen for opening his eyes to the value of being less of a presence on the training pitch. “One afternoon at Aberdeen, I had a conversation with my assistant manager while we were having a cup of tea. He said: ‘I don’t know why you brought me here.’ I said: ‘What are you talking about?’ and he replied: ‘I don’t do anything. I work with the youth team, but I’m here to assist you with the training and with picking the team. That’s the assistant manager’s job.’

“Another coach said: ‘I think he’s right, boss,’ and pointed out that I could benefit from not always having to lead the training.

“At first I said: ‘No, no, no,’ but I thought it over for a few days and then said: ‘I’ll give it a try. No promises.’ Deep down I knew he was right. So I delegated the training to him, and it was the best thing I ever did. It didn’t take away my control. My presence and ability to supervise were always there, and what you can pick up by watching is incredibly valuable.

“Once I stepped out of the bubble, I became more aware of a range of details, and my performance level jumped. Seeing a change in a player’s habits or a sudden dip in his enthusiasm allowed me to go further with him: Is it family problems? Is he struggling financially? Is he tired? What kind of mood is he in? Sometimes I could even tell that a player was injured when he thought he was fine.

“I don’t think many people fully understand the value of observing, but I came to see observation as a critical part of my management skills. The ability to see things is key or, more specifically, the ability to see things you don’t expect to see.”